Dry Tortugas- Yankee Capts -Nov11-14,10 (full report)

My friend Art Solas (Hoogan) some time back invited me to join him and two other friends that were making reservations to fish on the Yankee Captains season opener leaving out of key West Thursday Nov 11 and returning Sunday Nov 14.When Art called I was elated and jumped on the chance to fish the Dry Tortugas once again .The Dry tortugas a reef outcropping approx 80 miles away from Key West and lies within view of Fort Jefferson an old fortress built on the nearby Island and still visited by tourist and fisherman alike.

driving over the new Jewfish Creek bridge I could see the ripples on the water and sensed the sea would be choppy on this fishing excursion, still the excitement was building as I drove south towards Key West.

stopped by to say hello to shark club member and young shark fishing phenom Jd Fagan who lives in Marathon key

we had some appetizers at Porky's bayside rawbar

the bay view at Porkys and the boats at dockside

stopped at Keys fisheries to buy some stone crab claws,,. a suprise my hungry angler buddies would later enjoy on the second floor of the vessel Yankee Capts

The memories of fishing this incredible place in the 80's(Bahia Honda bridge)flooded my mind as I drove south and listened to Paul Mc Cartney sing "band on the run" !!!!!"well the rain exploded with a mighty crash as we buried into the sun"!!!! What a sight as the sun began to settle into the ocean,and what a song to accompany the breathtaking scenario unfolding before my eyes .

The people driving honked there horns as I slowed down to take my pictures out of my truck window and all along I sang !!!!! "band on the run,band on the run,!!!

On the boat finally with Art ,Frank,Ralph,Luis and I(the Cuban delegation,,LOL)We loaded our gear on the ship and went to the restaurant next to the Yankee Capts to have a few cold beers and talk strategy
for our trip

the sea was a furious mess (6- 8 foot seas) the first two days of our fishing trip and some folks were seasick and puking there guts out,,,,"free chum,free chum" i would joke every time I'd catch someone letting it rip over the side

on the wrong side of the vessel with my line swept under the hull my bow buddy catches yellowtails,grunts and porgies as i futily try and catch muttons far away from the stern on the first day.The frustration built before I got a chance to join my buddies on the stern for some real fishing on the second day

next to me the anglers were loading there stringers with yellowtail,grunts and an occasional porgy

fishing the recommended spot on the bow, against the current, I managed this nice king caught on a speedo head for bait and on bottom ,,,,,lucky duck or determined fool .Notice "them hose" next to my feet

Ralph is looking like a pirate on a mission with his head gear and glasses

the bow of the steel hulled fishing vessel "Yankee Capts" calm water on the last day

The first night and the boys are kicking butt.Here we have Ralph and mate John with a big Margate

Art with a big red grouper

Jake with a nice mutton on the stern with mate John the Gloucester terror at his side

Ralph gets another mutton and mate Derrick(chewy)helps finger the culprit snapper

Art with slob Mutton

Dudley hooks up on his spinner

Dudley and mate Vinny pose with a smaller grouper

bar jacks and amoco jacks are also caught throughout the day

the coolers start getting filled with the BIG STUFF

First time mate Vinny poses with a true Amereican red snapper caught by a fisherman at the bow while the boat was anchored in 180 feet of water

SECOND PART

For me on the first day it became apparent that fishing the bow or mid section of the boat might have some advantages in calmer water but in these choppy conditions with the current ripping and the boat anchored in water deeper then 100 feet most of the day I was having a difficult time trying to keep a bait on the bottom ,in one spot,without rolling around(muttons are very easily spooked) and off the hull of the vessel.I took it like a man and made the best of it although it was difficult to sit back and catch yellowtail and and assorted smaller species while the opposite side of the boat and the stern were into the the big fish.

The captains on this vessel Greg and Matt are super fanatical fisherman themselves and they work very hard to keep us on the fish .When one spot stopped producing captain Greg would shout out "wind them up we're gonna go find the big fish in deeper water"I knew these guys were trying to put us on the fish ,there was no doubt in my mind .Same thing for the nightime Captain Matt a more quiet captain but just as determined and driven to find us the big fish .These two captains and the three mates 1st mate John,Derrick and Vinny bust there tails to make our fishing expierience wonderful and they all did a great job providing for our every need.

The sea conditions were on the rough side and our buddy Frank was one that was on his bunk for a good part of the day the first day and could not keep anything down solid or liquid.The ocean has a way of affecting each one differently but sea sickness is the worst of effects that it can throw at you while you're intent on fishing hard.
By the end of the second day most folks were catching plenty because by that time the seas were subsiding and the bunks cleared of the tired, haggard fisherman anxious to get in on the action .The captains were constantly on the prowl as they motored the stable fishing platform "Yankee Capts" from 90 feet to 110 feet many times then we worked our way down to the deeper water 130,140,160,185,and 230 feet looking for the biggest baddest grouper and fattest headed muttons around.Most fisherman had to fish with 6 to 10 ounces of egg sinker to hold bottom because the high seas and current were making hard to hold bottom ,the deeper we went the more sinker we needed and at one spot that was over 200 feet deep the lines coming off our rods pointed almost straight towards the horizon the current was so vicious.Most of the red grouper being gaffed were of very nice size with the biggest probably at close to 15 pounds.For some reason the oversized kingfish of 30 lbs and up as well as the big black grouper eluded our nicely presented prime baits.The muttons on the other side were plentiful and plenty big .

Frank finally recoups from the sea sickness comes on strong by knocking out some mogan muttons

Art was banging up the muttons and on this trip he dominated our group with a total of nine by himself and this specimen being his biggest at around 16 lbs

Will with Luis our new compadre from Miami
The stone crab claws I brought on the trip were shared with my friends and everyone had some snack to contribute at one point or another it's a way of working and energizing through the days and nights of continuos fishing .Every chance we had between spots we drank and ate to stay mentally and physically as strong as possible but eventually the exhaustion caught up to us all and the bunk and cold ac became an oasis for our aching bodies .Sleep deprivation can make anyone's mind go places long forgotten and in my case it had me busting out some Jerky Boys crank call jokes and mate John the Gloucester terror remembered every one of the ones I was repeating so we laughed and the rest of the people on the boat looked at us like we were crazy ."Hey whata yu say der liverlips" or "get back to work before I give u a beatin"funnier then ever when you've only slept 4 hours in two day.

the galley now filled with exhausted anglers nodding out and fighting sleep to fish the very best next spot

Fisherman by nature are a resilient lot but after two days in these rough waters I started seeing in the fisherman's eyes there mechanical ways as they spend more days without a full nights sleep ,they go through the motions but if you look at there eyes you see exhaustion creeping up but they are unwilling to surrender to the very human need for sleep ,,,,,,,,,the will to catch the BIG FISH has kicked into overdrive and it drives them forward,pushes them to overcome there physical needs .

Night time mutton

Holly Mackarolly!!!!! A nightime blackfin tuna that mate Vinny just gaffed ,,,,,,,AMAZING!!

I wanted to bring a shark rod but out of respect for these hard core fisherman who pay good money to come on these fishing adventures I opted to leave my sharking for some other time .The sharks were plentiful but most were atlantic sharpnosed sharks(2 to 4 feet loong) ,several nurse sharks mixed and an occasional bull shark mixed in.We never saw a big hammer or a tiger around the boat but it was ok we were after a different more edible delicacy 'the mutton snapper" I was glad to see that the Caribean Reef sharks don't frequent these waters this time of the year because in the Bahamas they become a complete nuisance when snapper/grouper fishing and they will take 4 out of 8 hooked fish.

John with a half a mutton ,,,,,better then no mutton at all LOL

Vinny with one of many little pest that kept faking out the fisherman thinking it was a red one when in fact it was the man in the grey suit that was at work causing mayhem , tangling lines and causing friendly havok among sleepy fisho's

Being a HARD CORE shark fisherman If I can't catch a MONSTER SHARK then I get mad and take it out on his puny cousins and bite they nose i do!! .Biting there nose disorients them and they lose the scent and leave ,,,,I think. Bite the nose but let em go safely to reproduce and cause more havok for future Yankee Capt's fleets
LOL

the load of quality fish is moved into vats for easy off loading at the dock

John gets on with task of unloading the fish to distribute to each angler

Four friends each with nice load of fish

I want to thank the captains and the crew of the Yankee Capts for there professional manner and complete dedication to putting us on the fish and making it possble for us to realize our fishing dreams.I look forward to once again joining my friend Arturo,Frank,Ralph and Luis on the YANKEE CAPTAINS.

Time to catch some MONSTER SHARKS !!!!Asta la vista baby